This invention relates generally to computer-aided learning methods and apparatus, and more particularly to computer-aided learning and counseling methods and apparatus for a job.
We are living in the midst of tremendous technological changes. In the workplace, technology is replacing numerous workers. Many of our job skills are being obsoleted. Though technology is permeating gradually into every stratum of the society, it is very hard to keep up with so much changes.
Not only is it hard to keep up, technology has made the world much smaller, and global competition much more intense. It is not uncommon for a product to have its software written in India, semiconductor chips manufactured in Malaysia, overall physical design done in Italy, and its promotion extensively performed in the United States. The product uses expertise from so many different places because someone in the other side of the world can do a better job at a lower cost.
Not just facing global competition, we are also challenged by the younger generation. Many of them have access to computers and the Web at a very young age. Before graduation from high school, they might have already spent years playing with the Web. Their knowledge in computer might be much more up-to-date and hands-on than ours. They might be much more effective and efficient than us in performing computer-oriented jobs.
Drastic and rapid changes in the economy lead to massive re-deployment of the labor force. Due to technology revolutions in the industrial nations, and social upheaval in many third-world countries, every year, thousands of job titles with their job functions are being eliminated. Numerous industries experience massive layoffs, which are usually more geared towards the older and higher-paid employees. This problem is exacerbated by the aging of the population when employers tend to retain the younger work force, with more current education. Many employees are in transition. They need jobs. Such global challenges are not limited to the private industries. Millions of civil service employees and military personnel have to be re-trained.
Our career is at risk. We need to keep on learning to stay competitive. However, many of us are already working full time. It is difficult to find time to learn. Computer-based learning may be able to alleviate part of the problem by allowing learning materials to be conveniently accessible, such as through the Web, or on compact disks. Learning from such materials are typically cheaper than learning from a live instructor in a classroom. Computer-based learning approaches give us the freedom to decide the time and the place to learn. Thus, computer-based learning is an efficient learning medium.
On the other hand, saving tine and money to learn may not imply that we know what to learn. Though we may want to learn materials directly useful to our jobs, sometimes, it is not clear what those materials are, and where we can get hold of them.
The problem becomes more acute if we might be forced to leave the company, or we want to move to a different company. It is not clear as to what jobs are available that suit our needs. What needs to be learnt is not easy to define.
It should be apparent that there is a need to automatically provide appropriate counseling and learning materials in easily accessible manner for a user regarding her career.